Ireland vs New Zealand will kick-off at 15:15 this Saturday at the Aviva Stadium, as Andy Farrell's side look to build on a positive run of results.
Fears over a potential heavy beating by the All Blacks, who have been in imperious form this year, have been eased after Ireland’s near flawless 60-5 win over the Japanese.
It was a stylish and skilful showing with offloads and highlight-reel tries aplenty, in what was the most cohesive performance of Farrell’s reign thus far.
Ireland vs New Zealand preview: All Blacks looking vulnerable?
The All Blacks arrive in Dublin having taken back the top spot in the World Rugby world rankings. However their performance against Italy, last weekend, despite running out 47-9 winners, was highly criticised by Kiwi rugby journalists.
Writing for the New Zealand Herald, writer Liam Napier called it “clunky, disjointed, scrappy. The All Blacks saved their worst performance of the season for Rome.”
In the same publication, Phil Gifford called the start of the match, “the worst I’ve ever seen in an All Blacks test.”
However, Saturday’s game in the Aviva should see a team that is much closer to their first choice XV, and a much stronger performance in response to the showing against the Italians.
This is reflected in the bookies who have New Zealand as heavy 2/9 favourites.
The Ireland vs New Zealand fixture has been a relatively even battle (bar the World Cup quarterfinal) in recent years, and their players and coaches are expecting more of the same on Saturday.
New Zealand defence coach Scott McLeod when speaking with stuff , acknowledged the difficulty of the challenge his side will face, and also reckons that Ireland will revert back to a tighter and more kick heavy game plan.
"They’ll be very smart and play in different ways,”
“They’ll mix it up, and will have identified some areas where they want to attack us. Ireland are wanting to play a little, but they also have that [kicking game] up their sleeve. Conor Murray is one of the best aerial kickers in the game, and Jonny Sexton puts the ball exactly where he wants it."
However, the All Blacks players seem to have absorbed some of the game tape from the Japan game as TJ Perenara noted the more expansive style Ireland employed against Japan when speaking to reporters yesterday.
“I don’t know if it’s been a clear focus for them, but we can see a lot more of that ball being kept alive from them. Some of the tries they’re scoring from all around the field, some of the line-breaks they’re making, it’s pretty special. They’ve got some athletes in their environment and when they get ball in space, man, it’s tough to stop.”
New Zealand will generally have a more dangerous attack than any of their opponents, and the best way to stop them is to remove the platform that gives them the time and space to punish teams.
Hooker Dane Coles was also speaking to stuff, and he outlined the respect his side are giving their opponents, and the type of game plan they are expecting based off recent Ireland vs New Zealand fixtures.
"They’re a different beast at home. They’ll be feeding off the crowd, and it’s a great challenge for us. The intensity needs to be there and it’s a massive week for the leaders and coaches to lead that."
"I remember last time (2018) they just kept turning up. It seemed like there was no space for us to attack. I suppose it’s about finding where that space is. Their defence was awesome, they put some big shots on and put us under pressure. We may have played too much footy, so I suppose the kicking game might come into it.”
The question remains to what extent will we see a repeat of the style of rugby that was on show last Saturday in the Aviva?
If we are to play a more open and riskier game against the All Blacks, it may play into the oppositions hands, and executing such a game plan will not come as easy as it did against the smaller Japanese, where most of the collisions were won by the homes side.
If we are to see a more kick heavy and conservative game plan we may see the likes of Conor Murray, Keith Earl, Rob Herring, or Iain Henderson come into the starting XV.
While it is a massive ask for Farrell’s side to come away with a win, the Japanese performance has given hope that was not here a week ago.
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